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EP: The Mind's Eye // ARTIST: The Omnific
Mothers, lock up your guitars as instrumental ingénues The Omnific gear up to unveil an eloquent prog opus with 'The Mind's Eye' due out this Friday.
Having already established a remarkable reputation in an extremely short space of time, including snagging coveted endorsements with Darkglass Electronics and Ernie Ball along the way, The Omnific have swiftly sharpened their "prog 'n' bass" stylings to coat an assured and polished synergy around their guitarless, instrumental setup. Calling to mind the likes of Polyphia and Plini with their pulsing rhythmics and intricate harmonies, the two bass, one drum Melbourne trio have been seen most recently hitting the road around the country for their largest shows to date, warming the stages for Aussie alt-metal legends Cog while also teasing their most ambitious release yet: their brand new EP 'The Mind's Eye', due out this Friday 10th May.
For the unitiated, The Omnific are an instrumental prog band. That very fact may instantly add some preconceived notions and seemingly affect your digestion of 'The Mind's Eye'. But whether you consider yourself a fan of the genre or not, this is an EP worth diving head-first into and allowing it to carry you on an utterly bewitching journey across six tracks.
Opening tune 'The Stoic' scatters ominous, swirling textures amongst thick, dark bass tones, with its syncopated rhythmics and interchanging tones flowing seamlessly from pristine clarity to muddied and menacing intonations. Up next, 'Khimaira' offers up an upbeat and chirpy number, opening with cascading electronics. Euphoric melodics reign supreme on the second track, with the occasional sprinkling of jaunty, rumbling basslines that peek through the warm and soothing ambience.
THE STOIC (THE OMNIFIC)
'The Lifeless Charm' follows next, coming in a tad moodier, pumping up the grunt and presenting relentless melodics permeating between the chirping, dueling dissonance of the two basses. A moment of silken calm mid-way through the track inevitably gives way to mathematical rhythmics and increased grooves, with some cosmic mixing (courtesy of the iconic Forrester Savell) giving the illusion of a call-and-response, and crafting an ever-shifting universe that sparkles while the track builds itself to a peaceful conclusion.
The second half of the EP kicks off with a short and soothing outing titled 'Moonstruck'; drizzling pure and creamy bass tones that are, quite frankly, so to die for that you'll be forgiven for wanting to coat yourself in the warm sonic bliss and float off into the clouds. Showing the Melbourne trio's knack for knowing when to use restraint in their captivating arrangements, the softly building drums mixed with subtle synths leaves an ambient gasp as the track subtly concludes.
MOONSTRUCK (THE OMNIFIC)
'Final Tree' follows next, delivering broader textures and beefed-up tonality as the basses duel between deep-fried and crystalline inflections. Inter-weaving melodics lead to moments of synchronicity before the final track, and one of the lead singles, 'Erin' yanks you head first into pure sonic nirvana. While not their most complicated track by any means, 'Erin' showcases some sparkling polyrhythmic interplay and carries you to meander amongst the stars and lose yourself in the pristine tones. 'Erin' is an upbeat and idyllic conclusion to an EP that truly transfixes from the get-go, and a definite live highlight for anyone who has caught the Omnific boys in action onstage.
It's perhaps no coincidence that The Omnific share a name with an adjective that quite literally means "being all-creating". The subtle foundations and scintillating tones that ebb and flow throughout 'The Mind's Eye' demonstrates staggering creative and technical know-how that would generally be reserved and expected from bands far more established and experienced than this young, proficient trio. There's not one note or moment wasted on 'The Mind's Eye', ultimately dishing up a beaming and pronounced release that sets the bar exorbitantly high for any future releases from this lot.
THE OMNIFIC'S BRAND NEW EP 'THE MIND'S EYE' WILL UNLEASH THIS FRIDAY MAY 10TH.
YOU CAN ALSO CATCH THE BOYS IN ACTION WHEN THEY HIT THE ROAD IN MAY TO CELEBRATE THEIR NEW RELEASE. FOR PRE-ORDERS, TOUR DATES AND ALL OTHER INFO HEAD HERE.
BY TIANA SPETER
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